Stoa Annual Report · 2025–26 Season
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6–7 (NIV)From the Board President
Our 2025–26 theme, Rooted in Truth, was more than a banner over a season. It described what God has been doing in this league for more than 16 years. Stoa began in 2009 with a simple conviction: that homeschool students, trained well, could speak with clarity, grace, and courage from a Biblical worldview. That conviction has not changed. It is the root system from which everything else grows.
This year we saw what deep roots make possible. Stoa completed the largest season in its history. We finished the StoaHub launch, unveiled a renewed mission, vision, and values at the National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC), opened competition online through Clash in the Cloud, and built new tools that help clubs, coaches, and judges serve students well.
None of this happened by accident. It happened because parents coached, judges freely gave of their time, club leaders opened their homes and churches, and students kept showing up to do hard things. As you read these pages, we pray you will see God’s faithfulness in every chapter, and that you will be as excited as we are about what He is building next.
Chapter I
“…continue to live your lives in him, rooted…”
Every tournament, club meeting, and practice round in Stoa grows from the same root: students learning to think critically, engage graciously, and speak boldly from a Biblical worldview.
The 2025–26 theme, Rooted in Truth, called students back to that foundation. In a season of real growth, the league held to what has always made it Stoa: Christ-centered community, competitive excellence, and families who invest deeply in one another.
That foundation has carried Stoa through every kind of season. The league grew to a plateau in its first decade, slipped through a difficult stretch that included the pandemic years, and has since rebuilt to an all-time high.
A group of leaders launches Stoa to serve Christian homeschool families in speech and debate.
Stoa establishes clubs, tournaments, and NITOC as the heart of a national community.
Membership dips through a hard stretch that includes the pandemic, and the league holds together.
Families return and new families arrive, with back-to-back years of growth above 25 percent.
Family membership has grown about 70 percent in five seasons, to an all-time high.
Three early seasons are estimated from neighboring years, since the registration system in use at the time did not record every student.
Revealed at NITOC 2026
After a year of prayerful work by the Board, Stoa unveiled renewed guiding statements at NITOC in May 2026. They say plainly who we are, what we believe, and where we are headed.
We equip homeschool students, through competitive speech and debate, to think critically, engage graciously, and speak boldly from a Biblical worldview.
Until generations of faithful and compelling communicators make Jesus Christ known in every sphere.
For several years, we had been praying that Stoa’s vision and mission would more clearly convey its meaning, and when I heard the change this year, the call to speak boldly from a Biblical worldview and make Christ known in every sphere, I was in joyful tears.
From coast to coast, Stoa families are raising students who think critically, engage graciously, and speak boldly from a Biblical worldview.
Local clubs hosted tournaments across the country, and Clash in the Cloud brought competition online for students anywhere.
Showing all tournaments, October through May.
NITOC 2026
May 17–23, 2026 · Union University · Jackson, Tennessee
For one week in May, Stoa’s national community gathered in one place. Students who had qualified throughout the season came to Jackson, Tennessee, with their families, their coaches, and their clubs, and Union University opened its campus and its heart to us all.
The week began with anticipation and nerves and ended with awards. In between were hundreds of rounds, prayers in hallways before competition, devotions led each morning by Stoa dads, and late-night swing dancing with friends. Judges came from the Jackson community and from across the country. Rain came too, one unforgettable Tuesday night, and the tournament ran on.
Seniors were honored, the Founders Awards were given, and the final rounds closed the season. Families went home tired, encouraged, and already talking about next year.
Morning devotions and a worship night helped remind us all why we were really there.
Excellence, integrity, and good old-fashioned drive to do our best drove the many rounds of the week.
Socials, cafeteria dinners, and friendships that stretch across state lines.
From the NITOC 2026 surveys.
“I was so excited for friends who made it far, and really felt that same warmth and excitement from others, supporting me instead of being upset or jealous in any way. The community and camaraderie in this league is a large part of what makes it what it is!”
“It was incredible to see the mutual respect the kids had for one another, and even though they competed against each other, the encouragement they gave one another was inspiring. Morning devotions really set the tone for the day.”
“After a moving speech or an excellent round, the kids would shake my hand, look me in the eye, and say ‘Thank you for judging,’ not casually but like they meant it. Kids really do know how to rise to a challenge with grace, and that is something we could all learn from.”
Chapter II
“…and built up in him…”
Initiatives that strengthen Stoa today and prepare it for the next generation of students.
Stoa’s online debate tournament opened competition to students wherever they live. The spring 2026 edition offered Team Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Parliamentary debate, and a fall edition has since followed as the new season began.
For students far from a local tournamentUnveiled at NITOC 2026, these statements now guide every program and decision. Read them in Chapter I.
For the whole Stoa communityEvery speech event’s rules in one place, available on phones and offline for maximum convenience.
For students, coaches, and judgesA streamlined way to review scripts against the rulebook before students compete.
For coaches and reviewersStoa added an Associate Director and expanded its administrative support. The Venue Search, Marketing, and Advancement and Partnerships Committees moved in-house rather than relying on volunteers. The result is steadier, year-round attention to the work that keeps the league growing, and a Stoa that can plan further ahead.
For every family Stoa servesA task force developed Stoa’s position on artificial intelligence in speech and debate preparation.
For families navigating new technologyTwo wildcard options returned, and members voted in a new interpretive event, Literary Interpretation.
For speech competitorsA new online home and a refreshed visual identity are complete and will be revealed together in January 2027.
For every family, current and future
Last year’s report named the goals Stoa would pursue in 2025–26. Here is where each one stands.
Tabulation and ballot administration are now part of the platform that runs league and tournament registration.
DoneA modern home for potential Stoa families, alumni, partners, and community judges is built and in final preparation.
Coming January 2027A renewed visual identity is complete and will debut alongside the new website.
Coming January 2027Renewed statements were approved by the Board and revealed to the whole league at NITOC 2026.
Done · May 2026A summer series of webinars equipped club leaders and coaches for the season ahead.
DoneThe new Stoa Rulebook app and Script Compliance Review put the rules and review process in every student and coach’s pocket.
Done2025–26 became the largest season in Stoa’s history.
DoneWork continues on networking and mentoring opportunities that link former students with today’s competitors.
In progress
Chapter III
“…strengthened in the faith as you were taught…”
A speech is finished in ten minutes. A debate round is over in an hour or two. What those minutes build in a young person lasts a lifetime.
A student who competes in Stoa for several seasons learns to think before speaking and to hold a conviction under pressure. She learns to research a question honestly, to listen to an opponent, and to answer with grace rather than heat. He learns to stand in front of strangers and say something true, and to walk out of a round he lost with his character intact. These are not skills the world teaches easily, and they are part of what it looks like to be strengthened in the faith as you were taught.
That is the real work of Stoa. The trophies are incidental. The formation is the point.
Faith, studied and spoken
Every Stoa event shapes a student. Two of them do it by sending students directly into the Word of God and then out into the world with what they found.
Students prepare to answer 84 published questions on the character of God, the person of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the claims of the Christian faith. In the round, one question is drawn at random, and the student has four minutes to prepare and speak. What results is not a memorized script but a young person who has studied the faith deeply enough to explain and defend it on demand.
Approximately 1,000 students competed in Apologetics this season, from Junior competitors through high school seniors. It was the fastest-growing event in the league, and one of the two largest fields at NITOC.
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
Named for the hill in Athens where Paul engaged the philosophers of his day, this event works the way Apologetics does. Students prepare on a published list of cultural works: novels, films, songs, paintings, and influential voices. In the round, one is drawn at random, and the student has four minutes to prepare a speech that examines it through a Biblical worldview: finding the longing and the truth within it, naming where it falls short, and speaking Truth into it with respect. It is the skill of Acts 17, practiced by teenagers.
“People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” Acts 17:22–23 (NIV)
“I loved seeing the students pray with and for each other in hallways, around the tournament, and before their rounds. This is bigger than competition. It’s preparation for the leaders who will shape our nation and culture for generations to come.”
Formation does not happen on its own. Behind every student stand parents, club leaders, judges, and hosts who give their time so that students can grow.
Most Stoa coaches are moms and dads who learned the events alongside their own children and now teach the next family in line. They run club practices, review cases and scripts, drive to tournaments, and sit through hours of rounds. Few of them ever competed themselves. They coach because they have seen what it builds.
They open churches and living rooms week after week, build a culture of encouragement, and carry the weight of a season so students can focus on growing.
Every round ends with a ballot. Parent judges fill most of them, round after round, tournament after tournament, often judging all day so that Stoa students can compete. Community judges from outside the league add fresh eyes. Their written feedback is how a student improves from one tournament to the next.
Local clubs hosted more than one hundred tournaments this season. Each one took months of planning, a borrowed building, and a small army of volunteers to give students a place to compete.
A conviction for this moment
This year a task force of coaches and leaders took up a question every educator now faces: what place artificial intelligence should have in a student’s preparation. Their answer was clear. Stoa exists to form students, not to produce speeches and cases. The inventing, arranging, and delivering of one’s own thoughts is the formative work at the heart of every event, and it must remain the student’s own.
The position statement that followed gives families and clubs clear footing in a fast-changing landscape. Technology may change how students research. In Stoa, it will not change who does the thinking.
“Stoa exists to form students, not to produce speeches and cases.”Stoa Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence
From the NITOC 2026 surveys.
“One evening, a group of friends and I shared an amazing conversation over dinner about theology, predestination, Mormonism, and worship. It was a friendly, fruitful discussion, and I treasure the Stoa community for bringing together and developing people who want to use their skills to glorify the Lord.”
“As parents, we have witnessed such significant growth and transformation through our years in Stoa. God is good, and we truly see His work here.”
“Each year, I find myself so encouraged by the next generation. Hearing them speak and seeing how they are developing critical thinking skills is delightful.”
Chapter IV
“…and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Stoa runs on servant leadership. Hundreds of volunteers coach, judge, host, pray, and serve on committees so that students can grow.
To every parent who drove to a tournament, every judge who wrote a thoughtful ballot, every club leader who did the heavy lifting of administering and leading a club, and every committee member who served behind the scenes: thank you. You are the reason Stoa is thriving.
“They really do try to make God the center, not just on paper, but experientially as well. When I go home, it’s always with a deeper awareness of how much I love this organization, what it stands for, and what it cultivates in its members.”
Served during the 2025–26 season.
Serving during the 2025–26 season.
Janice ThamPresident
Theresa EllingtonBoard member
Danny HintonBoard member
Kimberly FarleySecretary
Wayne JohnsonBoard member
Josh BakerTreasurer
Josh MauldinBoard member
Lynda SlonekerExecutive Director
Becky KirkmanAssociate DirectorMinistry partners whose generosity kept Stoa accessible to families in the 2025–26 season.
“We steward our time, talent, and finances with integrity and sustainability, ensuring the faithful advancement of the mission for future generations.” One of Stoa’s six values, and the standard for every dollar entrusted to the league.
Fiscal year ended July 31, 2026
Share of total revenue
What Stoa is building next.
Recognizing students for sustained excellence, character, and service in speech and debate.
New materials and guidance to welcome our youngest competitors and their families from the very first season.
Inviting Stoa graduates back to serve the league that shaped them, with real responsibility in areas like digital marketing, communications, and league operations, and real experience to carry into their next chapter.
League news, announcements, training materials, and resources for students, parents, coaches, and judges, all in one place on every phone.
A guided assistant that walks tournament directors through StoaHub setup step by step.
Continued refinement of the tools clubs and coaches use every week.
Faster tabulation and clearer, more legible feedback for students.
Equipping coaches, club leaders, and judges with clear, current materials they can use right away.
Deeper preparation so every ballot helps a student grow.
Strengthening child-safety training and standards across the league.
Conversations for families and coaches, with more episodes on the way.
Student speeches recorded and shared on YouTube. Great speeches deserve a bigger audience.
Campaigns through the year, including a spring release with the new logo and look.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Colossians 2:6–7 (NIV)